Local CEO heads to D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Teri Hansen, president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, is the second local executive in recent months to attend job creation-focused meetings with senior White House officials.

Hansen was part of a team of business and community leaders from Tampa, Sarasota, Orlando and Jacksonville invited to participate in a forum on economic development, job creation and infrastructure needs in Florida. The meeting was held last week.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke at the forum, as did U.S. Commerce Department Chief Economist Mark Doms, according to a release from the Venice-based community foundation. The White House Business Council and Business Forward, an organization that connects executives with policymaking, coordinated the forum.

Sarasota-based entrepreneur David Grain, founder of Grain Communications, attended a separate White House job creation conference in February. Grain, whose company leases cell tower space to government entities, discussed job opportunities and growth in the telecommunications sector with other executives and White House officials.